2007 had been “annus
horribilis” – make 2008 a year of hope and change for Malaysians that the
great pledges of Abdullah when he became Prime Minister for an united, just,
accountable and democratic Malaysian nation are fulfilled despite the great
breaches of the past four years

__________________2008 New Year Message by Lim Kit Siang
_____________________

(Parliament,
Monday):Malaysians heave a sigh of
relief at the end of 2007, a year which had opened with such great promise
as it is to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation.

I cannot think of a better term to describe 2007 than to borrow from Queen
Elizabeth II in one of her most unforgettable annual messages when she
said that the year that had just ended was an “annus horribilis”.

For Malaysians, 2007 had been an “annus horribilis” (a horrible year), a
year which Malaysians would not look back with undulated pleasure and
pride – but with great foreboding!

This is because 2007, the 50th Merdeka anniversary costing over RM100
million of taxpayers’ money in public celebrations, should be the year
where Malaysians can look with pride and confidence into the next 50
years, founded on the fulfillment of the many great pledges which Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had made on becoming Prime Minister and for
which he was given the unprecedented electoral mandate of over 91 per cent
of parliamentary seats in the 2004 general election.

But 2007 has proved to be one of the most divisive and troubled year in
the half-a-century of Malaysia’s nationhood – with religious polarization
assuming its most serious dimension in dividing Malaysians, compounding an
already difficult problem of racial polarization in the nation-building
process.

It was announced a few days ago that an unprecedented 27,668 students
scored all 8As in this year’s Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination.

Abdullah would have scored all straight Fs in his four-year report card
for the great pledges of reform he had promised to make when became the
fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, whether police reform by implementing
the most proposal of the Royal Police Commission and establish an
Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to create
an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service;
create a first-world Parliament; restore the independence, integrity and
competence of the judiciary; eradicate corruption; respect human rights
and press freedom; prepared the “hear the truth”: from the people and be a
Prime Minister for all Malaysians!

Let all Malaysians come together as one to put the annus horribilis of
2007 behind us, not by suffering the worst denial syndrome in Malaysian
history by denying its existence, but by courageously owning up to the
disaster of the past 12 months in nation-building and making the new year
resolution by all Malaysians that 2008 should not be a repeat of another
annus horribilis – starting with a serious national commitment for change
and renewal starting with next general election which will be held in
2008.